Working with pine questions

[Bushwacked]

I’m curious how annoying is working with pine? I’ve never don’t much with it like the Big box stores pine vs my lumber dealers pine? Is there sap and stuff that will clog up my blades etc? Is one place better than the other to buy from? 
 

Had a request for some farmhouse stuff but not sure how much of a pain it is to work with. 

[Jamie]

30 minutes ago, Bushwacked said:

I’m curious how annoying is working with pine? I’ve never don’t much with it like the Big box stores pine vs my lumber dealers pine? Is there sap and stuff that will clog up my blades etc? Is one place better than the other to buy from? 
 

Had a request for some farmhouse stuff but not sure how much of a pain it is to work with. 

Yes it will build up some on your blades, simple blade cleaner will take care of it. Where I ran into issues using pine is when sanding. Has a lot of pitch and sap in it and will clog sandpaper really fast. Have the big erasers handy if you run it through a drum sander.  
Another issue with it is getting it to take stain evenly. Pre conditioners help quite a bit but will make the color quite a bit lighter. 
 

[Woodenskye (Bryan)]

It will gum up blades, but you have to do a lot of cutting. It is a softwood so it can dent easily if you don’t use something between the piece and your clamps. Sharp blades is also another thing if you are planing or chiseling. I don’t stand pine as Jamie mentioned due to blotching.
 

As for where to buy, the clear pine at HD is really overpriced and I would probably go with ash. If your lumberyard has pine if it has minimal knots I would go that route, unless client wants the character of knotty pine. 

[Bushwacked]

That is what I was thinking ... a 2" x 6" by 8' is about $1.44 BF ... not sure what my dealer sells if for though as I have never asked.

Although, I have been debating on whether I should go the route of poplar for as much as I could and then if they really wanted the stained knotty look, use that for the tops or pieces that they want stained.

Edited November 26, 2020 by Bushwacked

[Tmize]

Pine is not bad to work with. It does dent just by looking at it. The early an late wood is a major difference in hardness. Sharp blades is a must especially chisels. When staining use a gel stain to keep from botching or do a wash coat of clear shellac first. 
 

Pine at my lumber yard is expensive. If they want the knotty look I would do knotty alder cheaper to there. Another option at the box store which is more forgiving staining an workability is Douglas fir

[Chet]

On 11/26/2020 at 3:21 PM, Bushwacked said:

Although, I have been debating on whether I should go the route of poplar for as much as I could and then if they really wanted the stained knotty look, use that for the tops or pieces that they want stained.

Poplar can be a challenge to stain the colors in a single piece can be green, gray all the way to the color of balsa wood then over time it changes color and the stain color you think you had will no longer look like that.  Now if this is something that they might want painted then poplar would be a good choice.

[Bushwacked]

14 minutes ago, Chet said:

Poplar can be a challenge to stain the colors in a single piece can be green, gray all the way to the color of balsa wood then over time it changes color and the stain color you think you had will no longer look like that.  Now if this is something that they might want painted then poplar would be a good choice.

Yes, the poplar would be for only painted parts .. Then pine for the stained part like a top or shelves or something. Figure that might be easier than dealing with all pine?

[Kev]

You could also look into Alder which is fairly inexpensive.  That's what I did my wife's quilting room furniture in.  I didn't stain.